Divine Awakening - Chapter 49

[Author's Note - this chapter is rougher than normal as I haven't had a chance to read through it again and it hasn't gone to the editor either.]

Chapter 49

Ash stood alone in the tunnel, his senses alert for any additional wraiths. The flickering torchlight cast long, tripping shadows along the stone walls. The air felt thin, the complete lack of moisture causing the scent of old stone and decay to become overpowering. His mouth dry from the wraith’s greedy feeding, he swallowed hard, eyes fixed on his enemy.

Ten feet ahead, the Parched Wraith rose from the damp patch where it had consumed every bit of moisture. It unfolded like a shadow peeling away from the darkness. Hollow eyes glowed with a sinister red light, radiating like two flaming suns. Ash didn’t drop his gaze, ignoring the sudden wave of dryness that clawed his throat—a thirst that wished to consume him.

The wraith hovered, its tattered robes whispering against the cold stone like shifting sand. The air turned arid, and tiny cracks spiderwebbed across the walls as the last of the moisture evaporated, sucked into the creature’s body. Ash's Third Eye warned him of imminent danger, and he prepared to fight.

Drawing a deep breath, Ash grounded himself, channeling energy from his Root chakra. Strength surged up from the base of his spine, steadying his stance. He shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet, knees slightly bent. Solar Plexus energy ignited within him, fueling his agility and confidence. Warmth spread through his limbs, and he felt lighter, faster.

The Parched Wraith drifted forward, its shadows condensing into skeletal hands that reached out, fingers grasping for the moisture in Ash’s body. His skin tightened, lips chapping in the sudden dryness. He couldn't spend much time near the creature, or he’d leave here looking like a prune.

With a swift but gentle movement, Ash stepped into a Bamboo stance—a fluid readiness, arms relaxed but prepared. The wraith lunged, swiping with claw-like fingers.

Ash sidestepped gracefully, the soft style of Bamboo guiding his motions like a stream flowing around a stone. He felt the chill of the creature's passing, a numbing cold that seeped through his clothes.

Pivoting on his heel, Ash transitioned into a Viper strike. His fist snapped forward in a precise strike, aiming for the wraith's back. His knuckles flared, his skin turning white as the Mark of Eiru triggered, infusing his attack with magical energy. His punch connected with the semi-translucent creature, and a burst of light erupted upon impact. The wraith hissed, recoiling in shock from the blow.

Ash pressed his advantage, and he unleashed a flurry of strikes—elbows, knees, and open-hand blows—each one empowered by the Mark and turning his body into a magical weapon. The wraith struggled under the assault, its form flickering as if battered by a strong wind.

The creature's eyes burned brighter. It emitted a low, haunting wail that echoed through the tunnel. Ash realized too late the Parched Wraith had cast a spell.

Desiccating Aura intensified, and moisture seeped from Ash’s skin, drawn from his body by the Water Tap spell. His throat parched, and his vision blurred as all the moisture disappeared from his eyeballs.

The twenty-five points of damage Water Tap caused dropped Ash’s Health by seven percent, and the two-hundred sixty-nine Health that he’d thought sufficient, suddenly felt like a terrible vulnerability. The spell also drained ten percent of his stamina which decreased his Physical Energy bar by fifty-six points.

The Parched Wraith, seeing its success, immediately cast Water Tap again. The wail louder this time.

Ash couldn't let the wraith sap his strength. He closed his eyes to protect his already dry eyeballs. Focusing inward, he drew harder on his Root, anchoring himself against the draining force. He steadied his breathing, each inhale deliberate, each exhale controlled. Solar Plexus energy blazed, igniting a fierce determination.

Eyes still closed, Ash used his chakras to detect the approaching Water Tap. When the spell struck him, he wrapped it with a combination of Root, Sacral, and Solar Plexus energy. The spell remained connected to the caster, a bridge to return the water it had harvested from its prey.

Ash yanked with his chakra energy, pulling on the connection Water Tap had created between them.

A sound like a water balloon bursting against the ground echoed around them. Another shriek, but this time from pain and anger. Ash kept his eyes closed to protect the moisture that only now had returned to his eyes.

Ash had long since lost dependance on his sight. He’d practiced and mastered fighting without seeing and hearing long ago. Closing his eyes had revealed something new. The recent Awakening of his Third Eye had unlocked something unexpected, and he grinned directly at the wraith.

While in combat, Third Eye activated the moment his eyes remained closed for longer than a blink. The colors didn’t look normal, the hallway painted with a combination of bright energy sources located in the wraith and torches while the stone walls had subdued colors. The floor had a puddle of bright energy that looked like a pool of sunlight—the water he’d yanked from the wraith.

The wraith lunged again, but this time faster. Ash effortlessly stepped away, but the wraith’s fingers only needed to come near his shoulder, not touch it, and a searing pain shot through him. His Physical Energy dropped another ten percent and a sudden weakness made him feel heavy.

Ash shifted back into a Bamboo stance, movements fluid and evasive. The wraith attacked again, and he flowed around it. As the creature passed, he kicked it in the back. A human would have collapsed as their kidney exploded, but the wraith only shrieked.

The tunnel's narrow confines limited Ash’s options, and confident he could survive the Desiccating Aura and retaliate against the Water Tap spell, he attacked.

The Parched Wraith detected Ash’s approach from behind, and its lower body formed into a spear of shadow that thrust backward. The wraith had likely cloaked the attack using its own shadow, but the energy signature remained bright to Third Eye.

Ash twisted, easily avoiding the spear, and then surged upward with a Viper uppercut named Ascending Sprout, his fist enveloped by the Mark's magic.

The blow struck the wraith in the face, driving it backward into the wall. Instead of bouncing back into Ash’s approaching attacks, the wraith disappeared, sinking into the stone. Third Eye could just make out the faint outline as the wraith circled inside the stone of the wall and floor. It was like watching a shark in a pool of cloudy water.

The wraith continued to swim through the wall and under the floor. It moved to the pool of water that lay like blood in the tunnel ten feet away. The wraith remained hidden in the stone floor, only its long tongue pressed upward into the underside of the puddle.

Ash leaped forward and he sensed the wraith’s uncertainty. It paused its feeding, but hesitated to leave, the desperate eternal need for moisture keeping it in place. Ash could guess its thoughts. Why should it flee? Nothing had ever followed it into the walls or even detected its presence. It was safe.

The Mark of Eiru pulsed with power, and Ash said a silent thank you to the goddess that had given him such magic. His necrotic necklace had done nothing to the wraith, and if his attacks hadn’t been classified as magical, this fight would’ve gone very differently. It highlighted the fact that he shouldn’t get dependent on one type of magic.

Eyes still closed, Third Eye watched the wraith continue to feed, its posture almost mocking. Ash visualized the sequence of attacks he believed would deliver the most damage. Then he gathered his chakra energy, holding it in his body until it filled him.

Ash forcefully pushed his hands downward, palms facing the stone floor. Chakra energy surged outward and into the floor, surrounding the Parched Wraith in a moment.

With another forceful movement, this one upward, Ash yanked the wraith from the floor and into the tunnel. It remained wrapped in chakra energy, momentarily stunned at its sudden displacement.

Ash wasted no time, attacking the Parched Wraith with superhuman speed and strength. The creature’s health dropped in chunks, too stunned to retaliate. Sensing the wraith approaching death, he slammed an open palm into the creature’s chest, releasing a blast of condensed Sacral and Heart energy.

Both Dormant chakras contained dense life energy, and with effort and concentration Ash pulled energy from them. The combination of pure life energy and his magical attacks overcame the last of the wraith’s defenses, and the energy Third Eye had detected lost cohesion, swirling away like smoke in a strong breeze.

The oppressive dryness disappeared, and the moisture slowly returned, rising from water that remained on the floor. To Third Eye it looked like steam rising from the ground.

Third Eye also detected Ash’s approaching experience. Energy gathered from his surroundings, multicolored light that surged into the spot under his feet. A second later that colored energy entered his feet, and the familiar pleasant feeling filled him.

Three stars deep underground, only visible because of their intensity, shot upward. Ash jumped back and when the three streaking meteors struck the floor they stopped.

Ash opened his eyes to the drab browns of the tunnel which hardly compared to the kaleidoscope of colors Third Eye displayed. The three streaks of light had delivered his loot, arriving at the behest of some quartermaster far below.

Ash waved his hand through all three sandstorms revealing his loot.